Take The Time to Build a Great Team

Many entrepreneurs get their start following in the footsteps of their parents. For Toronto entrepreneur Catherine Graham, the apple could not have fallen further from the tree. “I was raised in a very corporate family so I didn’t have any [entrepreneurial] role models, and it was not something that was taught in school at the time,” said Graham in interview. After obtaining her MBA, Graham joined eBay Canada as employee number four, and worked in management consulting before joining the startup space as Managing Director of promotional products company RIGHTSLEEVE, and Co-Founder and President of commonsku.

Commonsku is a customer relationship management, order management and social collaboration tool for the promotional products industry. The company formed out of the experience Graham had building RIGHTSLEEVE with her husband, Mark Graham. “Commonsku is a philosophy – it’s a completely different way of doing business. We had been running RIGHTSLEEVE in this open and transparent way for 5 years before we decided that this approach was an interesting business opportunity unto itself. We feel passionately about making work fun and creating an interface that is more in keeping with what people are used to in the consumer world.”

Graham believes two of the biggest challenges in the promotions industry are competition, and the perception that promotional items are just throw-away gifts. “There are a lot of companies out there that still view promotional products this way and therefore shop only on price. We have built a business around educating clients about the power of how promotional products can create an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer. The challenge is finding companies that understand this and are willing to give us creative license to produce merchandise their customers will love.” Graham learned numerous lessons from building the community around RIGHTSLEEVE, and had to shift gears when building commonsku. “Running a software company was completely different than running a sales and marketing company; getting up that learning curve meant reaching out to others who had already been there. The other lesson was the importance of bringing design in-house when it’s core to your product.”

The decision to build a software suite catered to the promotions industry has paid off for Graham, and she believes the enthusiasm from their community is the biggest milestone for her. “We are starting with commonsku in a very traditional industry and there was always the fear that it wasn’t ready for a totally different way of doing business. Seeing the reaction and excitement when we revealed it was a huge milestone.“

Before her work at RIGHTSLEEVE and commonsku, Graham was a management consultant for A.T. Kearney, and worked with Fortune 100 companies on merger integrations, marketing strategy and operational efficiencies. She describes the work as challenging and interesting, but believed that the lifestyle was not conductive to the kind of parent she wanted to be. “I stumbled into the startup world by joining my partner in crime at RIGHTSLEEVE to help grow it and we then started commonsku together. With three kids under the age of eight, I need the flexibility and the ability to leave at 5:30 every day to pick them up and have dinner together.”

Graham believes the most important aspect of a business is people, and she encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to focus heavily on developing their teams. “Take the time to build a great team and develop your people. If this is not something that you are good at, hire somebody else to do it. If you can’t afford that then find yourself and amazing mentor or coach who can help you.” RIGHTSLEEVE has a history of giving back to the community, including merchandise sponsorships for local charities, and staff volunteer days at non-profit summer camps. Graham encourages start-ups to find opportunities to give back that excite staff, and encourage them to participate. “It is a great way to drive employee engagement when you find something people can rally around. If you can’t afford to sponsor, give your time – it can be equally as valuable.”

Graham currently divides her time between RIGHTSLEEVE and commonsku, and believes that touching base with both teams daily is the key to staying on top. “I have brief, standing meetings with both teams separately each morning which is instrumental in ensuring everyone is on task for the day.” With RIGHTSLEEVE entering its twelfth year, and commonsku expanding its community daily, Graham is excited about the future of both companies. “We’re at an incredibly exciting time in both businesses with each poised for major growth so the next few years are going to be a fun adventure.”

Read More

What to look out for when hiring employees

During many conversation with small business owners, We frequently hear the complaint:

“We really need new employees, but we cannot find anyone good enough. The good ones are all with the large multi-nationals!”

One can appreciate the frustration, but in my opinion, the statement is wrong.

You will agree that especially those entering the workforce are frequently lured by the prestige of working for a large corporation. After all, many large companies have a well groomed image, supported by glossy brochures, brand awareness and well oiled PR departments.

But the reality of daily life in these companies is often something entirely different. Many employees in these companies are distraught by cumbersome decision making processes, nonsensical profit orientation and infighting in the executive suite.

The draw of small businesses

Many small and mid-sized businesses do not seem to be aware of this. Are you among these as well? Do not overestimate the lure of large companies, and do notunderestimate the attractiveness of your own small company! Small companies have much to offer in contrast to most monolithic conglomerates:

• Immediate decision making processes and direct access to the owner
• More decision making authority and judgment calls by the employees
• Customer orientation instead of bureaucracy
• Sustainability instead of focus on quarterly results

And what about the high salaries?

“The best employees are also the most expensive! We could never afford these.”

Nonsense! This statement is equally false! Think about it: Anyone who joins for the money, will also leave for the money! To a good employee, the assignment and the underlying purpose of his work are more important than the size of his income.

Please do not take this the wrong way: The salary must of course be appropriate. In the end, the applicable proverb is:

“If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”

But the best employees are by no means the most expensive! The key is the right attitude! Look for employees who are drawn in by your company vision. You are looking for employees who, in the true sense of the word, want to work for your company – employees who want to get things done.

Employee’s attitude is the key!

There are two types of employees: One group is looking for work, the other is looking for a mission! You should only employ people from the latter group. The candidate’s eyes should light up when you tell him about his future assignments.

“Hire for Attitude – Train for Skills!”

What if the candidate does not have the technical skills? So what. This can be overcome. If the future employee has the right attitude and is committed, then he can acquire the technical content of the job. This may take some time. Look at this as an investment. What a person will never ‘learn’ is to have the right attitude!

Give candidates with unusual CV’s the benefit of the doubt. Have the courage to employ candidates that are from a completely wrong field or sector, or have other apparent weaknesses. You will be surprised about the outstanding performance these employees can muster after some time.

Read More

4 Mega Marketing Mistakes with Colossal Consequences

We get it… everyone who is a business owner was once a newbie. We all started out with that grand idea of how we were going to change the world with our product or service. Our idea was revolutionary! It was in demand! And we were going to deliver it better than anyone else! We had already picked out that dream home, new car and lifestyle in our minds eye.

Sound familiar? Well then you know what happens next. REALITY! Yes, as days turned into weeks and weeks into month’s you’ve realized running a business is tough, really tough.

Everything costs money. Time is precious and you try to stretch your hard-earned green as far as possible. Often the very first expense as a small business owner is our marketing budget.

While it’s important to be thrifty, here are four ways that extreme thriftiness can hinder rather than help us…

1. Bursting our brand through branding bargains

Nothing screams “cheapskate” more than getting a business card handed to me that was printed on a piece of paper. Sometimes it’s just black and white or just one color… BOTTOM LINE – It’s tacky!

The problem is although you may offer a great service or product; poor presentation sends doubt in the consumers mind. You wouldn’t go into some dark alley to buy a pair of Nike shoes right? I know that’s probably a little dramatic, but you get the picture.

This is one area worth splashing out ona little. Flyers, business cards, brochures,letterheads and other print material can make a much greater impact if they are in full color, glossy printed and professionally designed.

Tip: Remembers what’s at stake… “TRUST”, how you are perceived on first impressions will either make or break your business. Fewer high quality printed marketing materials will have a higher impact than thousands of sub – standard marketing materials.

2. Wading through the woes of an online web presence

Do you really need a website? It sounds expensive and unnecessary, not to mention website designers often take too long to produce results. Plus,every time, I want to make a change it costs me… Yes I hear you and feel your pain.

The fact is YES you need a website, and NO there is no cheap solution to an EFFECTIVE website.

Just like our tacky business cards, homemade and fast fixes for a website also look tacky. You have to spend a little to look good. I can just hear you asking, “But how do I find someone that is affordable, reliable and has the skills?” Well, here are some ideas:

• Portfolio – Look at the work they have done, phone their customers, and ask if they are any good. You will get the picture soon enough.
• Testimonials - l can’t believe how often this is overlooked. Look for what others say about the designer. Not just on their website, but on their Facebook Business Page, LinkedIn, Twitter and other relevant social profiles.
• Flexibility- Costing, layout, and time frame should all be flexible. The designer needs to listen to you, customize their approach to your needs and work within a time frame. There needs to be a flow of check points along the way and a clear picture of what is expected from both parties.

Tip: The web has millions of websites, so a first and good impression here are crucial. Go for a website package that’s flexible and has room to grow as you grow.

3. The tedious task of finding time or social media

Many small businesses normally do one of two things when they hear about social media:

• They say “I just don’t have the time for that.”
• They embrace it, fill out a half-baked profile and start pushing their products, thinking “HEY this is another way to sell…”

Both are incorrect. First, you need to make time for social media, because although you may not have time for it, your customer will. Second, take the time to fill out all areas of your social profiles, just like offline business cards and marketing materials. The better they look, the better they will perform.

Just because the social media came along, doesn’t mean that you need to throw out good, time honored tactics like good customer service or going the extra mile. Rather see social media as an extra helper and extension of what you are already doingIt’s just an online version of it with more reach.

Tip: Just like any other activity, set aside a fixed amount of time to social media – perhaps half an hour in the morning and night. Focus on service and consumer wants – rather than pushing products.When your audience knows you care, they will ask for your services.

4. Focusing ferociously on an “A” but failing on “B” priorities

Getting your business right from the beginning is important. You all know there are things you need to do, improve, purchase, or learn to improve your service. This requires planning; perhaps some early mornings or late nights and a lot of extra work on top your current busy schedule.

For example if you were a nursery owner selling seedlings, you may be thinking how do I get more customers buying my plants…

• “I could talk at this year’s gardening show, but I am scared of speaking.”
• “I could also do some videos on how to plant seedlings correctly, but how do I get it on YouTube – it sounds too technical.”
• “If I offered extra gardening equipment I could generate more income, but cash flow is tight.”

All of the above requires one to learn a new skill, save money or require a plan of action. You know what needs to be donein order to improve your service or business. Often it doesn’t get done because, “Well, I just don’t have the time”. If you don’t focus on B priorities (important tasks), eventually they will become A priorities (emergency tasks).

Tip: Get up earlier in the day, schedule time for those things that matter most, you won’t regret it. Making time for things you know you should be doing always and I mean ALWAYS pays off.

Let us know how you have improved your business, overcome a challenge or have extra input to add by commenting below. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Read More

3 Ways Blogging Will Positively Impact Your Organization’s Website

From connecting with more customers and donors to putting your industry expertise on display for the world, the advantages of having an active blog are numerous for any organization. Perhaps the most important benefit of a blog is the positive impact it will have on your organization’s website. By analyzing data from our own blog (the one you’re reading right now), we’ve pinpointed three significant ways a blog will make your website more valuable.

Three Important Advantages of Blogging for Your Business or Nonprofit

A blog will bring more people to your website. A lot more people. And you definitely want more people on your website. More people visiting your website means more people learning about what makes your brand unique, and your products and services. Here are three specific ways having a blog adds value to your organization’s website:

#1  The Traffic Spike

By analyzing our website traffic data over the past six months, we’ve noted a pattern of significant spikes in traffic whenever a new blog post goes up. Keep in mind, we promote our blog. We post links to it on our social media sites, and share it in emails and within other online communities. All that promotion contributes to our results. We found the publication of a new blog post generally produces a spike in overall website traffic on the day of post publication and the two days immediately following publication. That’s a consistent three-day spike before our traffic settles back into average daily numbers.

#2  The Ripple Effect

Here’s the kicker: While the majority of website traffic following publication of a new blog post is directed at the specific post, our results showed traffic also increased on all other pages of our website. That means with each new post, your entire website (all pages) experiences a traffic spike for three days. One can reasonably stipulate the influx of visitors to the new post are trickling out to the other pages of the website. This result illustrates the single most compelling reason an organization should have a blog: With each new blog post, more new visitors will lay eyes on your website. More people will learn who you are and what you have to offer.

#3  The SEO Factor

After initial publication and the three-day website traffic spike, blog posts continue to add value to your website. Primarily, they do this through SEO (search engine optimization). Analyzing the hundreds of search terms that brought visitors to our website, we determined more than 2/3 of our search engine traffic leads visitors directly to blog posts. That means your blog serves as a vital website entry point. Weeks, months, even years after you published a post, you will find people are still entering your website through that post because it turns up in search engines. In this way, blog provide a great SEO advantage.

A Note on Timing Your Posts…

To get the most out of your blog posts, you should publish posts when they will have the biggest impact. For a blog targeting businesses and organizations (or more specifically people who work at businesses and organizations), the best time to publish posts is during the work week (Monday-Friday). When taking into account the two-day echo of increased website traffic that follows each new post, you will want to publish early in the week (Monday-Wednesday) to get the most out of your post.

Want More Website Traffic? Start Blogging

The bottom line is a blog will give your organization’s website traffic a significant boost. In the case of our website, over 1/3 of all our site traffic is the result of our blog.That’s a big number, and it means a lot of additional eyes exposed to your brand and your website. If you’ve been dragging your feet on launching a blog for your business or nonprofit, don’t miss out on this easy way to increase your site traffic.

A couple final tips to help you get the most out of your blog:

1. Post regularly to your blog. Publish at least 2-4 new posts a month. The more you post, the better results you will see.

2. Spread the word about your blog. Share new posts on your social media pages, in email newsletters and any other way you can.

Read More

Test Your Way to Success: 11 Tips for Your Email Subject Lines

When you open your inbox,you definitely find many emails from various companies having thousands of email subject lines. While we had developed best practices, we always knew we would have to test our way to success. So, when an email marketing ninja says “it depends”…in many ways, they are telling you the truth. Your market and customer base have unique needs no matter what you read or are told.

Bottom line: we have to be great with email open rates as we compete for mindshare in the inbox.The Image below shows a bit of what should the subject lines look like.:

Here are some of the things we’ll cover. These are my eleven favorite tips for your email subject line strategy (which is technically your “email open rate” strategy)

1. Optimize your subject line for the mobile inbox first – Do I need to tell you how big mobile is? You are probably reading this post on your iPad.
2. Clear subject lines are the name of the game now — More people clear out their inbox with their mobile phone than ever before. Here is my slogan: “Be clear or get cleared out.”
3. Be relevant – My buddy once told me, buyers don’t consider something intrusive if it is relevant. I get tons of email, but if you can hit me with something I care about, I will open the email.
4. Scalable personalization – Segmenting your database to deliver a personal message that still scales. I once received a message: “Join 25 marketing experts just like you.” I opened it.
5. Localization –Michael Lodato from Network Hardware Resale who said they increased open rates by 5% by just mentioning the local weather. I got really excited about this tip and saw all the possibilities. I used this concept on a couple mini-email campaigns and they worked. When the lottery reached $350 million, I wrote a long effective one: “If you aren’t in line buying lottery tickets right now, join us for…”
6. The “From” line – In my old media company days, we had certain brands that converted dramatically better than others. In other words, the open rates for our trusted brands were fantastic and the open rates on our lesser known brand names were much worse. Email experts will tell you the From line can get you deleted pretty quickly.
7. Numbers/lists – 875 million ways to get your emails opened. Lists still work. I wanted desperately to move away from lists since the concept is so ridiculous right now as every blog post, tweet, etc has a list. We tried, but the numbers spoke for themselves.
8. Test and test and optimize – I know I already mentioned this, but I actually can’t message it enough. T-T-O or “always be testing” – The best email marketers have patience because they know the drill.  Their open rates will get better over time.
9. Don’t send once – This isn’t a subject line tip per se, but everyone is busy and the email may get buried. Feel free to send again, and if you want to add a little something to the subject line to recognize that fact, that’s okay.
10. Follow your competitors – This is not a crazy tip. You can learn a lot about what is working for them that you may want to test. They typically hit the same target market, so let them do some work for you.
11. Make it actionable – Tell the email reader what he/she is going to do or get. Again, people typically delete more than they open.

Read More

Time Traveller's Tips for Internet Marketing

It's 2012. You've got a website, you've put some tracking code in to see how you're doing. All good so far.

But wait. Your traffic isn't growing and you're certain that with the visitors you have, more should be converting into customers.

So what do you do? How do you take what you've got and really make it successful? I mean more visitors, more customers, more turnover. More success!

Do you redesign it? Do you get some search engine optimisation done? Do you start blogging and tweeting? And if you do any or all of these things then how do you know if it's really working?

It's difficult to know what to do, because depending upon who you talk to you'll get different advice.

If you talk to a design agency, it's a design problem.
If you talk to an SEO company, it's an optimisation problem.
If you talk to a PR agency, it's a PR problem.

Ouch.

To answer this, it looks like we need to go back in time!

Let's zoom back to 1996 in our DeLorean (if you're going to build a time machine, you might as well build it in a DeLorean right?)

First stop. Design Agency. 1996.

In 1996 websites were seen simply as online brochures. The design and structure of websites was geared around explaining business activities and products from the businesses perspective. Copy was generally written by product or marketing managers to communicate important features.

Today, successful businesses understand that they must engage with customers by listening and solving their problems, focusing on benefits whilst building trust and maintaining relationships.

Strong and consistent branding is still important as it helps to position and differentiate, making sure that any communication has maximum impact and that brand communications are mutually supportive.

However, it is the content that is crucial in developing and maintaining customer relationships. Repeatedly redesigning around stale content will undermine brand consistency and strength.

Time machine tip: Strong consistent branding adds value across multiple communications and maximises content investment.

Second stop. SEO agency. 2004.

As people came to rely on search engines to find stuff, businesses came to rely upon search engines to get found. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns were two ways to get in front of people on the web.

Back in the day, an SEO company would help you to understand the search phrases your customers use and to restructure your website to align your content to these search phrases. Then build back links from other websites to get your pages to rank well for your prospects searches.

If you were creating great content that naturally attracted links from other websites, Google loved you and your traffic grew. If you were buying links to 'brochure' pages on your website, you spent your time dodging Google's algorithm changes.

Yes, it's important to get ranked in search engines. But the content that you rank with is more important. Because when somebody clicks through to your page, they are either going to be engaged and want more from you. Or they are going to click away. Disappointed.

Think content strategy. Search is still massively powerful, we've got our branding and tone of voice from 1996, let's pick up our content strategy from 2004!

Time machine tip: Google is in the business of helping people to find the content they want. If you make it your business to create and deliver content that your customers want and need, you win.

Back to the time machine and..

Third stop. Business blogging. 2008.

Everyone knew that they should have a business blog, to keep their website up to date, to get people to come back maybe even make their website a destination.

But many struggled to find the time to create the content, or spent time creating posts that didn't add value and saw little return on the time and effort invested.

Interestingly, those that did find success in blogging, did so by aligning the content they created with the search terms they knew that their potential customers used to research their marketplace. They added white papers and PDF ebooks that could be downloaded in exchange for a visitors contact details to create engagement and to identify business leads.

These tactics drew in the prospects who were using the web to research their purchases, the very people advertising was finding it increasingly difficult to reach.

But wait. On the subject of reach, we have one more stop before we go back to the future..

Fourth stop. Social media. 2009.

I'll confess, it took me a while to get it. "What good is a 140 character tweet going to do my business"? I said to myself back in 2009.

Well listen up, old me from the past!

It's about reach. And It's about influence. It's word of mouth on a global scale in real time. And building your own network that draws those with shared interests towards you. This is how it works...

Social media drives visibility for your blogging and content generation. Blogging and content generation drives the growth of your social media network. Both support your SEO strategy.

Creating strong, interesting content that helps and informs, and then sharing it, is incredibly powerful.

Got it? Well we're outta time... So let's get back to the future!

But before we land back in good old 2012. I want you to notice that over the years the conversation you have had with your customers has become less about trying to communicate the things that you do as a business, and more about delivering the things that your customers want. Think benefits, not features.

So here we all are, with our ingredients for success pilfered from across time. We've got our consistent brand identity, our content plan and a social media powered global publishing system.

Read More

Social Networking for Business Growth

Don’t forget about old networking methods

As you enter into the realm of the social media, you can’t forget about the old ways. Tweeting, posting and sharing are all great ways to get your brand to a lot of people. However, meeting people in person, networking, making phone calls – those methods all still work.

Today I went to a luncheon for business women and they were quite a hoot. As I generally spend my days hunched over my computer tapping away at the keys, getting out and seeing other humanoids was enriching, if nothing else! Just like giving a polar bear at the zoo a giant ice ball with a fish in the center of it, meeting some people in person was my enrichment for the day.

The women I met were from various fields, only one other spends her entire day alone with a computer. While immersed in cyberspace, we tend to forget about how important it is to do networking in person with other business people to help grow our businesses.

Check your community and find a networking organization. Most allow visitors to attend at least one or two meetings without joining the organization. Get a feel for the group and see if it is a good fit for you. You don’t have to meet everyone at once. I felt a little intimidated at the first one I attended. If you just make a few connections, the next time you go, you will know at least one or two people. Then, it becomes much easier.

Always take a big stack of cards, even if you think you will only give out a few. It’s always best to be prepared. If you don’t have cards – shame on you! Get some. There are reasonably priced places online like vistaprint.com where cards are very inexpensive (some are free, you just pay shipping). Vista Print offers designs already made up for a variety of businesses or generic cards. If you need help, get in touch with me. I can design something for you at a reasonable price.

Take advantage of all the ways to connect with others and grow your business. Don’t limit yourself by relying completely on the internet.

Read More

Give Your Employees the Latest Tech Tools, or Else!!

Does your small business have the right stuff to attract qualified employees? Technology stuff, that is. Almost three-fourths (72 percent) of workers in a recent Workplace Options survey say that the better the technology tools a company provides to its employees, the more attractive it is as a place to work. 

That number soared to 92 percent among workers aged 18 to 29.

How important is technology? Half of all workers and 75 percent of those aged 18 to 29 say they assess the level of technology a workplace offers when they’re looking for a new job. A good computer doesn’t cut it, either—employees consider that a given these days. What they really want are smartphones, tablets and presentation tools.

It’s not all about them, either. Some two-thirds (65 percent) of employees in the survey say providing employees with current technology is crucial to a company’s success. But less than half (45 percent) say their employer provides up-to-date technology to all its workers.  More than half (53 percent) say that up-to-date technology is essential in order to do their jobs properly. Interestingly, older employees (in the 45 to 65 age range) were more likely than younger workers to say that up-to-date technology was essential both to their jobs and to their employers, and women were more likely to say so than men.

Employees feel so strongly about technology that more than one in five (22 percent) say they would quit or change jobs if their employers didn’t provide the latest technology. That figure was highest among employees age 29 to 44, with 29 percent saying they would quit for this reason.

Nearly three-fourths of employees (72 percent) say their reliance on technology has increased over the past five years; almost half (46 percent) say it has increased “significantly.” Employees in the 29 to 65 age group were the most likely to say their reliance on technology has grown.

What do these figures mean to you?

 No matter how old your employees are, you can’t assume they will be happy to get by with less than the latest technology. While younger employees in the survey cared more about the latest tech tools, they were also less likely to quit over the lack of them. It’s the workers in their prime years—those who are most valuable to your business—that you stand to lose if you’re making them struggle with inadequate technology.

Today, cloud computing, subscription software and lower hardware prices are all combining to make technology more affordable than ever for a small business. There’s no excuse for not upgrading—not when it can make your employees more productive and your business more successful.

Read More